The Valdosta State men’s club soccer team is gearing up for their spring tournament schedule, which begins on March 1.

Though their official season ended in the fall, the team will be participating in various tournaments during the spring.

“[March 1] we’re going down to Florida State to play a tournament,” Alec Kronitz, vice president of Valdosta State men’s club soccer, said. “And, later, Florida State will probably come here for a scrimmage.”

To keep themselves sharp, the team will be holding scrimmages against the Blazers’ women’s soccer team as well as many other schools in the region.

“We’re trying to get a scrimmage along with Berry College,” center back Kyle Stewart said.

“Their club team has contacted us and wants to work out a scrimmage for the semester. We’re trying to work up a couple more games for us to play in for our spring season.”

In addition to club soccer, the intramural soccer season is set to kick off on Sunday. Many of the players on the men’s club team will be participating in the seven-on-seven intramural season as well.

“The club team is so diverse,” Alec Kronitz, vice president of Valdosta State men’s club soccer said. “Everyone kind of has their own different teams. One [intramural] team may have five or six club players on it.”

Kronitz, who also plays center mid-fielder for the team, and Stewart are looking for their team to be strong in the Spring season after failing to make the regional tournament in the fall.

“Spring is an opportunity to work on some things that we didn’t feel we did well in our [fall] season,” Stewart said. “Getting these spring games in helps us decide positions, formations, and what we need to work on in practice.”

“These games against [Division I] college players give us a chance to play against really competitive teams with lots of skilled players,” Stewart added. “It brings experience to the other kids, so that’s where we think we can get better.”

Currently, Valdosta State does not have an official men’s soccer team, in accordance with the Title IX rule, which keeps the number of men’s and women’s sports equal.

Kronitz understands that he and Stewart will likely be gone by the time Valdosta State features a men’s soccer team.

“We’ll probably be graduated before they get a real men’s team,” Kronitz said. “It’s hard to get a team—you can’t just push for it and get it. It definitely takes a few years and a lot of working out to do it.”

While the men’s club soccer team would welcome being an official program for VSU athletics, that does not stop them from cheering on their female counterparts, who will be entering their third season of competition on Feb 24.

“Coach [Mel] Heinz is a very good coach,” Stewart said. “They made it to the NCAA tournament. They’re gonna be strong—they had a few players that were All-Americans so it should be a good game when we play them.”

Valdosta State men’s club soccer travels to Tallahassee, Fla., as they kick off their spring tournament schedule at Florida State University on March 1. Starting times for the tournament have not yet been announced.